Sensor managed apparatus, method and computer program product

ABSTRACT

An apparatus, method and computer program product provide a simplified method for unlocking an electronic device that uses soft keys, such as capacitive touch keys, or proximity detection areas and patterns. The keys may be implemented in the form of areas of a sensor, and a processing circuit observes a touch pattern (or proximity pattern, or characteristic pattern such as a capacitance pattern of a user&#39;s finger) and compares the same with the registered pattern to determine if there is a likeness. In doing so, the electronic device is operated at a low power state, and in that low power state observes whether a predetermined pattern is observed and when it is, unlocks the electronic device for interaction with a user at a fully operational state. By operating in the low power state while waiting to observe a predetermined pattern before unlocking the user interface, the device does not waste power on false positive detections, and allows for convenient wakeup and accessibility by a user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No.14/608,987 filed Jan. 29, 2015, which is a continuation of and is basedupon and claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 for U.S.Ser. No. 13/359,544, filed Jan. 27, 2012 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,988,386),the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to apparatuses, methods and computerprogram product that use a single action to change an electronic deviceto an unlocked operational mode from a lower power locked mode.

Description of the Related Art

The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently-named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the disclosure that may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentinvention.

More mobile terminals (such as cell phones, including smart phones) arebeing equipped with touch sensitive screens that replace hardware domekeys, for example. Normally, two or more operations are needed towake-up and unlock these mobile terminals. FIG. 1 shows a conventionalmobile terminal 10 having a touch screen 13 and an analog “home” key 11disposed on the front of the mobile terminal 10. The home key 11 isoften concave so it is not inadvertently pressed and places the mobileterminal 10 in an active state that wastefully draws more power. Somemobile terminals include a mechanical power switch 12, often mounted onthe side of the mobile terminal 10.

There are separate ways to wake up and unlock the mobile terminal 10.One way to wake up the mobile terminal 10 is for the user to press thehome key 11, and then the user unlocks the device by sliding his fingeracross an illuminated portion of the touch screen 13. This combinationof user interactions wakes up, and subsequently, unlocks the mobileterminal 10. Another technique is for the user to slide the power switch12 to the ON position, followed by an interaction with the touch screen13, or perhaps touching of a key, such as the home key 11.

One purpose of having a separate wake up operation from an unlockoperation is to avoid inadvertent waking up and unlocking of the mobileterminal 10. Moreover, it is unlikely that a user would accidentlyactuate the home key and then also swipe the main touch screen 13 in twoconsecutive actions.

Another feature of some devices is the replacement of analog “dome” keyswith capacitive touch keys that are an extension of the touch screen.However, as recognized by the present inventors, without a two stepaction, the capacitive touch sensor keys too easily, and inadvertently,actuate the mobile device, which would unnecessarily waste batteryreserve. Also, keeping the touch sensor active, constantly waiting for atouch event, also draws unnecessary power.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes

-   -   an interactive display having a sensor that detects user        interaction with a sub-portion of the interactive display; and    -   a processing circuit that executes a state change of the        interactive display from a low power state to an operational        state in response to only one detected user interaction with the        electronic device, the user interaction being one of a touch        event, a proximity event and a gesture.

An aspect of this embodiment is that the sub-portion is disposed at anend portion of the interactive display, and is visually separated from amain display portion of the interactive display by a material thatoptically covers at least a portion of the sub-portion but not the maindisplay portion.

The device may also include

a front lens have an external surface that separates the sensor from anobject used to generate the user interaction, wherein

the interactive display being a touch panel, and the sensor being acapacitance sensor that is reactive to a touch of the object.

According to an aspect of the embodiment, the one user interaction is atouch event that includes a movement of the object over the front lenswhile remaining in contact with the front lens.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the sub-portion includes a plurality of soft key regions that includesat least a first soft key and a second soft key, and

the touch event includes a movement across the soft key regions thatinclude the first soft key region and the second soft key region.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the processing circuit determines that the first soft key region isincluded in the touch event before determining that the second soft keyregion is included in the touch event.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the processing circuit determines the first soft key region is includedin the touch event by receiving a signal from the sensor indicating thata change in detected capacitance amount exceeded a predetermined levelfor a portion of the sensor that corresponds with the first soft keyregion.

According to an aspect of the embodiment, the device further includes

a computer storage medium that has data stored therein describing apreregistered capacitance pattern, wherein

the processing circuit performs the state change after determining thata detected capacitance pattern caused by the object matches thepreregistered capacitance pattern within a predetermined amount.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the one user interaction is a proximity detection that includes amovement of the object over the front lens without contacting the frontlens.

According to an aspect of the embodiment, the device further includes

a computer storage medium that has data stored therein describing apreregistered proximity pattern, wherein

the processing circuit performs the state change after determining thata detected proximity pattern caused by the object matches thepreregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the processing circuit performs a cross-correlation operation todetermine that a detected proximity pattern caused by the object matchesthe preregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the one user interaction is a multi-point gesture that includes amovement of the object over the front lens.

According to an aspect of the embodiment, the device further includes

a feedback mechanism that provides a haptic response when the only onedetected user interaction is recognized by the processing circuit asbeing a user interaction that is associated with a wake up and an unlockinstruction.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the feedback mechanism includes at least one of an illumination device,and a tactile sensation device.

In a method embodiment for managing operation of a user interface in anelectronic device, the method includes

-   -   detecting with a sensor user interaction with a sub-portion of        an interactive display, the user interaction being; and    -   executing with a processing circuit a state change of the        interactive display from a low power state to an operational        state in response to only one detected user interaction with the        electronic device, the user interaction being one of a touch        event, a proximity event and a gesture.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the one user interaction is a touch event that includes a movement ofthe object over a front lens while remaining in contact with the frontlens, the front lens separating the sensor from an object that generatesthe user interaction.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the executing includes determining that a change in detected capacitanceexceeds a predetermined level for a portion of the sensor thatcorresponds with a first soft key region.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the one user interaction is a touch event that includes a movement ofthe object over a front lens but does not contact the front lens, thefront lens separating the sensor from an object that generates the userinteraction.

According to an aspect of the embodiment

the executing includes determining that a detected proximity patterncaused by the object matches a preregistered proximity pattern within apredetermined amount. The predetermined amount may be an amount oftemporal and/or spatial similarity. For example, the similarity of timepatterns may be viewed from the perspective of having an object interactwith discrete locations on a touch/proximity sensor within certain timeframes, as part of a method for detecting a gesture. The predeterminedamount may also involve spatial ranges about predetermined points orareas in which interactions with the touch/proximity sensor beingobserved. Likewise, the predetermined amount may be a range ofcorrelation values, such as 75 to 100%, for example.

According to a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumembodiment, the medium has computer readable instructions that whenexecuted by a processing circuit implement a method of managing a userinterface in an electronic device, the method includes

-   -   detecting with a sensor user interaction with a sub-portion of        an interactive display, the user interaction being; and    -   executing with a processing circuit a state change of the        interactive display from a low power state to an operational        state in response to only one detected user interaction with the        electronic device, the user interaction being one of a touch        event, a proximity event and a gesture.

The foregoing paragraphs have been provided by way of generalintroduction, and are not intended to limit the scope of the appendedclaims. The described embodiments, together with further advantages,will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a conventional mobile terminal;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are diagrams of exemplary electronic devices inwhich methods, systems, and computer program product described hereinmay be implemented;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of the electronicdevice of FIG. 2 according to an exemplary implementation;

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the electronic device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a functional layout of a display/touch sensor including atouch key region according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating components supporting a sensor subarea and a sensor main area of an apparatus according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a process flow between a touch ASIC and hostprocessor for managing power state and unlocking a mobile terminalaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a process flow for determining a falsepositive and a correct touch/slide/gesture sequence for managing aprocess for waking up and unlocking the mobile terminal;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary touch sensor circuit with fine pitch betweensensor elements according to an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the capacitive signature of an object thattouches the touch sensor;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a process for registering a touch pattern andunlocking the mobile terminal when the observed touch patterncorresponds with an actual touch pattern; and

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing a process for registering a movementpattern and comparing the movement pattern with an actual movementpattern to determine whether there is a match and consequently whetherto unlock the mobile terminal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In the description that follows, FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 3 and 4 provide ageneral system description of component layout and interaction betweenrespective subcomponents of the mobile terminal 100. More detaileddescriptions of the display/touch sensor 120 (FIG. 5) and the controlcircuits that interact with the display/touch sensor 120 will beprovided in FIGS. 5 and 6. Subsequent figures describe structures andmethods that enable the mobile terminal to operate at a lower powerstate, yet still allow a user to wake up and unlock the mobile terminalusing a single interactive event with a portion of the display/touchsensor 120.

Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 2A, and 2B one embodiment of the mobileterminal is shown as a smartphone 51 with print screen icons 53 a, 53 b,and 53 c for capacitive keys on a front face of the smartphone, belowthe display/touch sensor 120. FIG. 2B shows an exploded view of thesmartphone 51, with other soft keys implemented with flexible printplates 33 disposed on the side of the smartphone body. A more detaileddescription of this smartphone embodiment, including its subcomponentsis fully described in co-pending, commonly owned U.S. provisionalapplication 61/530439, filed on Sep. 2, 2011, the entire contents ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 2C illustrates another form factor of the mobile terminal 100, inwhich the, touch panel 120 is integrated with and/or overlaid on display110 to form a touch screen or a panel-enabled display that may functionas a user input interface. The touch panel may further extend to includesoft touch keys (e.g., capacitive sensitive keys) that are integratedwith the touch panel, but are visually separated from the touch panel soas to appear to a user as a separate area. While two soft touch keys 240are shown, even more soft touch keys (or areas) may be included eitheron the same horizontal area as keys 240 or in a matrix of keys 250.Although the front of the mobile terminal includes a dedicated area (subscan area) for soft touch keys 240, in some embodiments other analogkeys may be included as well, such as in the matrix of keys 250.

The touch panel 120 may include near field-sensitive (e.g., capacitive)technology, acoustically-sensitive (e.g., surface acoustic wave)technology, photo-sensitive (e.g., infra-red) technology,pressure-sensitive (e.g., resistive) technology, force-detectiontechnology and/or any other type of touch panel overlay that allowsdisplay 110 to be used as an input device. While the term “touch” panelis used, it should be understood that the display need not be physicallytouched to be sensed by the mobile terminal 100, because the touch panelmay be implemented as a proximity display that does not require physicalcontact to register user interaction as a detectable event.Nevertheless, for the present description, and for convenience, the termtouch panel will be used, but it should be understood that theinteractive display may also be a proximity display that reacts to aphysical presence of an object that does not physically contact a frontlens of the display panel.

Generally, touch panel 120 may include any kind of technology thatprovides the ability to identify multiple touches and/or a sequence oftouches that are registered on the surface of touch panel 120. Touchpanel 120 may also include the ability to identify movement of a bodypart or a pointing device as it moves on or near the surface of touchpanel 120.

In one embodiment, touch panel 120 may include a capacitive touchoverlay including multiple touch sensing points capable of sensing afirst touch followed by a second touch. An object having capacitance(e.g., a user's finger) may be placed on or near touch panel 120 to forma capacitance between the object and one or more of the touch sensingpoints. The amount and location of touch sensing points may be used todetermine touch coordinates (e.g., location) of the touch. The touchcoordinates may be associated with a portion of display 110 havingcorresponding coordinates. A second touch may be similarly registeredwhile the first touch remains in place or after the first touch isremoved.

In another embodiment, touch panel 120 may include projection scanningtechnology, such as infra-red touch panels or surface acoustic wavepanels that can identify, for example, horizontal and verticaldimensions of a touch on the touch panel. For either infra-red orsurface acoustic wave panels, the number of horizontal and verticalsensors (e.g., acoustic or light sensors) detecting the touch may beused to approximate the location of a touch

In another embodiment, the input mechanism may be implemented with apressure or force sensitive sensor that detects external forces, such asby way of a stylus or other object that lacks the electric capacity totrigger capacitive touch sensors. Likewise, the sensor may use acousticpulse recognition that employs transducers attached to the edge of thescreen that pick up the sounds of an object touching the screen.Similarly, dispersive signal sensors may be used to detect apiezoelectricity in the cover glass that is responsive to the touch.

Housing 230 may protect the components of electronic device 100 fromoutside elements. Soft keys 24 may also be used (one the touch panel 120is in a fully interactive operational state) to permit the user tointeract with electronic device 100 to cause electronic device 100 toperform one or more operations, such as place a telephone call, playvarious media, access an application, etc. For example, control buttons240 may include a dial button, hang up button, play button, etc. One ofcontrol buttons 240 may be a menu button that permits the user to viewvarious settings on display 110. In one implementation, control keys 240may be user-settable to change function depending on the function beingperformed by the mobile terminal 100.

Microphone 260 may receive audible information from the user. Microphone260 may include any component capable of transducing air pressure wavesto a corresponding electrical signal. Speaker 270 may provide audibleinformation to a user of electronic device 100. Speaker 270 may includeany component capable of transducing an electrical signal to acorresponding sound wave. For example, a user may listen to musicthrough speaker 270.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of electronic device100 according to an exemplary implementation. Electronic device 100 mayinclude bus 310, processor 320, memory 330, touch panel 120, touch panelcontroller 340, input device 350, and power supply 360. Electronicdevice 100 may be configured in a number of other ways and may includeother or different components. For example, electronic device 100 mayinclude one or more output devices, modulators, demodulators, encoders,and/or decoders for processing data.

Bus 310 may permit communication among the components of electronicdevice 100. Processor 320 may include a processor, a microprocessor, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA), or the like. Processor 320 may execute softwareinstructions/programs or data structures to control operation ofelectronic device 100.

Memory 330 may include a random access memory (RAM) or another type ofdynamic storage device that may store information and instructions forexecution by processor 320; a read only memory (ROM) or another type ofstatic storage device that may store static information and instructionsfor use by processor 320; a flash memory (e.g., an electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM)) device for storing informationand instructions; and/or some other type of magnetic or opticalrecording medium and its corresponding drive. Memory 330 may also beused to store temporary variables or other intermediate informationduring execution of instructions by processor 320. Instructions used byprocessor 320 may also, or alternatively, be stored in another type ofcomputer-readable medium accessible by processor 320. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium may include one or more physical or logicalmemory devices.

Touch panel 120 may accept touches from a user that can be converted tosignals used by mobile terminal 100. Touch coordinates on touch panel120 may be communicated to touch panel controller 340. Data from touchpanel controller 340 may eventually be passed on to processor 320 forprocessing to, for example, associate the touch coordinates withinformation displayed on display 110.

Touch panel controller 340 may include hardware and/or software-basedlogic to identify input received at touch panel 120. For example, touchpanel controller may identify which sensors may indicate a touch ontouch panel 120 and the location of the sensors registering the touch.In one implementation, touch panel controller 340 may be included aspart of processor 320.

Input device 350 may include one or more mechanisms in addition to touchpanel 120 that permit a user to input information to electronic device100, such as microphone 260, physical or soft keypad 250, soft touchkeys 240, a keyboard, a gesture based device, an optical characterrecognition (OCR) based device, a joystick, a virtual keyboard, aspeech-to-text engine, a mouse, a pen, voice recognition and/orbiometric mechanisms, etc. In one implementation, input device 350 mayalso be used to activate and/or deactivate touch panel 120 or to adjustsettings for touch panel 120.

Power supply 360 may include one or more batteries or another powersource used to supply power to components of electronic device 100.Power supply 360 may also include control logic to control applicationof power from power supply 360 to one or more components of electronicdevice 100.

Electronic device 100 may provide a platform for a user to view images;play various media, such as music files, video files, multi-media files,and/or games; make and receive telephone calls; send and receiveelectronic mail and/or text messages; and execute various otherapplications. Electronic device 100 may perform these operations inresponse to processor 320 executing sequences of instructions containedin a computer-readable medium, such as memory 330. Such instructions maybe read into memory 330 from another computer-readable medium. Inalternative embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of orin combination with software instructions to implement operationsdescribed herein. Thus, implementations described herein are not limitedto any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.

FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of exemplary components that may beincluded in electronic device 100. As shown, electronic device 100 mayinclude touch panel controller 340, touch engine 410, database 420,processing logic 430, and display 110. In other implementations,electronic device 100 may include fewer, additional, or different typesof functional components than those illustrated in FIG. 4.

Touch panel controller 340 may identify touch coordinates from touchpanel 120. Coordinates from touch panel controller 340, including theidentity of particular sensors in, for example, the X and Y dimensions,may be passed on to touch engine 410 to associate the touch coordinateswith, for example, an object displayed on display 110.

Touch engine 410 may include hardware and/or software for processingsignals that are received at touch panel controller 340. Morespecifically, touch engine 410 may use the signal received from touchpanel controller 340 to detect touches on touch panel 120 and determinesequences, locations, and/or time intervals of the touches so as todifferentiate between types of touches. The touch detection, the touchintervals, the sequence, and the touch location may be used to provide avariety of user input to electronic device 100.

Database 420 may be included, for example, in memory 230 (FIG. 2) andact as an information repository for touch engine 410. For example,touch engine 410 may associate locations and/or sequences of differenttouches on touch panel 120 with particular touch sequences stored indatabase 420. In one implementation, database 420 may store timeinterval thresholds to identify touch command sequences. For example, ameasured time interval between a first touch and a second touch mayindicate that the second touch should be associated with the first touchif the measured time interval is below a stored threshold value. Also,database 420 may store lists of touch sequences that may be interpreteddifferently for particular applications being run on electronic device100.

Processing logic 430 may implement changes based on signals from touchengine 410. For example, in response to signals that are received attouch panel controller 340, touch engine 410 may cause processing logic430 to alter the magnification of an item previously displayed ondisplay 110 at one of the touch coordinates. As another example, touchengine 410 may cause processing logic 430 to transfer a file or otherinformation from one electronic folder location to another and to alterdisplay 110 to represent the file transfer. As a further example, touchengine 410 may cause processing logic 430 to alter the magnification ofa portion of an image or a particular section of a block of text beingshown on display 110. Further description of how a multi-touch controloperation for a touch sensitive display may be used according to adevice and method described herein is found in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/204,324, filed Sep. 4, 2008, the entire contents of whichbeing incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary display/touch sensor 3601 that includes amain, active area region 120 and a sub-touch key region 341. As can beseen by the dashed lines on the display/touch sensor 3601, the regionswithin the display/touch sensor 3601 are subdivided into differentregions. Some of those regions are in the sub-touch key region 341 andothers are in the main, active area region 3601 (not shown).

A touch ASIC 340 (part of a touch panel controller) connects to each ofthe different touch sensor keys (1-5 in FIG. 5) each being supportedwith LEDs 362 that illuminate when the respective touch sensor key isactuated. Connected to the touch ASIC 340 is a host processor 321 thatis a form of a processing circuit (programmable or fixed logic) thatperforms touch sensor processing as will be discussed in the followingparagraphs. Also a haptic device 342 is connected to the touch ASIC,which provides user feedback (perhaps vibration) to inform the userthrough tactile sensation when a particular touch sensor key isactuated.

FIG. 6 shows related components of the display/touch sensor 3601, havinga sensor subarea 341 and the sensor main area 120. These areas shown tobe within a lens/touch display module 601 that includes as a first layerfront glass 602, although they may be separated in other embodimentsGraphics (e.g., printed areas that optically block all or part ofunderlying portions) 603 are shown as black regions in the diagram. Amutual capacitive sensor 604 is common to the sensor subarea 341 and thesensor main area 120. The mutual capacitive sensor 604 is separated fromthe display 600 by adhesive or lamination material 605. In addition tothe lens/touch/display module 601, an outer enclosure 608 encloses ahost main circuit board 609, host battery 610, display ASIC 611 andtouch ASIC 340 as shown.

The present inventors recognized that by having a common touch/displaymodule that has two sections (sub area and main area), the sub area maybe used for implementing distinct keys and thus the functionality ofthese touch areas may be modified outside of a standard user interfacefunction. Generally, the sub area may be used to implement a number ofkeys (soft touch keys) that may perform specific functions for aparticular application. One such application is triggering a combinedwakeup and unlock operation. In this case, when an object (e.g., auser's finger) executes a touch event, the touch ASIC 340 (FIG. 6)informs the first processor 320 (FIG. 5) to interrupt a kernel layersoftware touch driver to implement a fetch operation. A touch handlerthen reads the driver buffer memory area and passes the finger touchlocation data (XYZ) to be examined and determining whether it is asingle tap, slide, slow flick, or fast flick gesture, or even amulti-finger slide. This more complicated touch interaction is noteasily confused with an accidental excitation of the soft touch keys,and consequently it allows for reliable power up and unlocking of themobile terminal with high reliability and low likelihood of falsepositive detection.

To allow for power savings, the touch ASIC 340 cycles between active andinactive scanning periods giving the user the impression of being alwaysON and ready to respond to a touch event while reducing the averagecurrent consumption. Furthermore, to allow power consumption by the hostsystem, the touch ASIC 340 can partly assign certain touch key andhandling and analysis without needing to excite or inform the host. Evenfurther power reduction can be achieved by reducing the touch sensorchannels being scanned selectively. In this way, it is possible toimplement an ON key function using the touch mechanism while furtherapplying power cycling in order to save total system power at the touchASIC and the host main circuit board 609.

In one embodiment, in the sub area 341 (FIG. 6) icon printing is addedto indicate a location of an unlocked slide functionality (see printing603). To provide a user with feedback that the soft keys have beensuccessfully actuated, one or both keys may be illuminated, or avibration mechanism may be used to provide tactile feedback.

With regard to how physical operation of touch sensing with a capacitivesensing unit may be used, an exemplary structure is described in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/138,782, filed Jun. 13, 2008, the entirecontents of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIG. 7 shows an operation security code flow diagram regarding how aprogrammable security code may be employed via touch scanning to unlocka mobile terminal using reduced power. The process begins with the touchASIC 340 being in a normal touch scanning state (upper left-hand portionof FIG. 7). The normal touch scanning state operates at a 60 Hz ratewhich refers to the scanning speed. In an exemplary embodiment a currentconsumption during normal time input mode consumes about 5 mA. Whenpowered on and in the ready state, the full scan is performed and cyclesbetween the scan operation and an idle state at 60 times per second. Thescanning operation searches for an interrupt when a touch event isobserved. When the touch event is observed, the process generates aninterrupt that is received at the host processor. The host processorreads the interrupt and grabs the associated touch data (e.g., positioncoordinates, with corresponding grid number, for example). Then, theprocess proceeds to operation in a normal touch mode when the hostprocessor is in the normal active state. In the normal active state, thehost processor remains in coordination with the touch ASIC, whichcontinues to perform the scanning operation, waiting for additionaltouch input.

However, the host processor goes into a suspend mode when no touch eventhas been observed for a time greater than X. X may vary, such as onesecond, one minute, or at a user settable time limit. Once no touchevent has been observed for greater than the predetermined amount oftime, power is suspended and the start of a sleep preparation isperformed, which includes sending a security unlock code along withverification to be stored in a register. This unlock code verificationis stored in a touch ASIC, in a code register. This code register wouldrecord the pattern of touch interaction or gesture pattern, for example.Subsequently, the host processor sends a sleep command, which places thetouch ASIC in a low power scanning state. In the low power scanningstate, the touch ASIC operates at a lower scanning rate, e.g., 5 Hz.Correspondingly, the touch ASIC wakes up every 200 milliseconds andscans the sensor to determine whether a finger (or other object) hasbeen detected and begins a validation sequence. If no detectable patternhas been observed, the process flow in the touch ASIC returns to wake upevery 20 milliseconds. However, if the validation sequence is observedon the “end pattern pass”, the process proceeds to an unlocked statuswhich generates an interrupt that is sent to the host processor. Then itis awoken and performs a receipt of a reporting from the touch ASIC thatthe unlocked status of the mobile terminal has been achieved. Then theprocess returns to a normal active state.

FIG. 8 is a process that shows steps employed by the system forunlocking the mobile terminal, touch or movement pattern. The processbegins in step S800 where the touch ASIC wakes up to scan themain/sub-sensor every 200 milliseconds. While 200 milliseconds is usedin the exemplary embodiment, it should be recognized that a variety ofother repetition rates may be employed, for example, as frequently as200 milliseconds per scan or 1 second per scan. Any particular value inbetween may also be set. In one embodiment, the scan rate may be usersettable between 10 milliseconds and 1 second, depending on the gesturepattern that may be employed by the user for waking up the mobileterminal and placing it into an operational mode. The process thenproceeds to step S801 where a count value “N” is set at 0. The countervalue is used to keep track of the number of passes of particular touchsensor keys (or areas) that are part of the gesture pattern. In thisexample, three different touch sensor keys will be used to recognize thepattern. Accordingly, three separate passes are needed and so N will beequal to 3 when the decision is made whether to send an interrupt tounlock the mobile terminal.

After step S801 the N is incremented by one, indicating that the firstpass is being performed. The process then proceeds to a query in stepS805 where it is determined whether an object is detected as touching(or if a proximity detector is used, in proximity within a predeterminedamount to the sensor). If the response is query is no, the processreturns to step S800. However, if the response to the query isaffirmative, the process proceeds to step S807 where the scan of therelevant main/sub-sensor is performed for a full scan. When the scan isperformed, a query is made in step S809 regarding whether the touch (orproximity) event is detected within the first region (particular set oftouch sensors that are associated with a soft touch key, for example).If the response to the query in step S809 is negative the processreturns to step S800. However, if the response to the query in S809 isaffirmative the process proceeds to step S811 wherein the host processorrecognizes that the touch event occurred in the location associated withthe stored touch or gesture pattern and therefore can provide feedbackto the user, an LED associated with that soft key is illuminated, and/ora haptic feedback so the user knows the touch event was successfullyrecognized by the host processor. This feedback is performed in stepS813 and subsequently the process proceeds to step S815.

In step S815 a query is made regarding whether N is equal to apredetermined value, “X’. In one embodiment, X would equal 3, indicatingthat three different soft keys are part of the registered touch patternor gesture pattern. Because N would equal one at the end of the firstpass, the response to query S815 would be negative and therefore theprocess would return to step S803, where N would be incremented to two.The process would then repeat for a second pass, and then a third passin this example, so at the end of the third pass, in step S815, theresponse to the query would be affirmative, which would mean that thetouch pattern (or gesture pattern) corresponded with the registerpattern sufficiently close, and therefore in step S817 an interruptwould be generated to send to the host processor indicating that themobile terminal should be woken up and unlocked for user operation.

Once again, this process can be performed through one user step in areliable way while minimizing the amount of false positive detections.Furthermore, because the analog switch or button could be eliminated,and the touch or proximity sensor is used in a low current state, thesystem can operate with fewer components and in a lower power state thanconventional devices. It also provides the user with a much moreconvenient experience, so the user can turn on the mobile terminal in asingle operation.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing how a sensor matrix 902 cooperateswith an array of sensors 900, having individual sensing elements 901 n.The sensing elements 901 may be capacitive sensing elements, proximitysensing elements, or optical sensing elements for example. The pitchbetween the different sensing elements is set so that a signature of anobject that touches (or in proximity) the front lens will be at leastsomewhat unique and at least distinguishable against other objects thatmay touch the sensor and possibly generate a false positive.

FIG. 10 is a sensed capacitance distribution caused by a user's finger(or other object) effect on the sensor matrix 902. The first pattern1098 is the intrinsic capacitance “signature” associated with a user'sfinger captured at time T1. In this example, the second pattern 1099 isgenerated by the same figure that has been dragged across the front lensand captured at a time T2. Alternatively, the first pattern 1098 andsecond pattern 1099 are generated by two of the user's fingers thattouch the front lens at the same time (T1=T2). The capacitancedistribution (a kind of capacitance signature) is stored in memory andused for comparison against a particular touch event to wake-up the hostprocessor and determine whether the touch event matches the registeredcapacitance distribution. If so, the mobile terminal is unlocked andreadily available for full use by a user without the user performing asecond step to unlock the mobile terminal.

If the pitch and levels of resolution of the sensor elements 901 n ofthe array of sensors 900 is sufficient to generate a unique signaturefor different users, then a user's finger or other object need not bemoved to unlock the mobile terminal. Moreover, a single touch and arecognition of the user's capacitance signature will be sufficient totrigger an unlock state. For example, the inherent capacitancedistribution imparted by a user's finger is first saved in memory andused for comparison against a particular touch event. The user may alsoset multiple capacitance signatures (e.g., two or three finger touchpattern) that would also unlock the mobile terminal.

Alternatively, the user may opt to wear gloves that include a particulararrangement of electrodes or other non-dielectric materials arranged ina particular pattern that would make a characteristic capacitancesignature pattern. This would permit the use of a lower resolutionsensor matrix 902 and would simplify the mobile terminal's recognitionof the capacitance distribution that unlocks the terminal. Differentgloves may be constructed with different electrode distributions thatimpart distinct signature patterns to aid in maintaining physicalsecurity of the mobile terminal. This may be convenient in winter monthswhen a user is attempting to use the mobile device in cold weather anddoes not want to remove his or her gloves to wake and unlock the mobileterminal.

While the above description was made in reference to a touch sensor, asimilar application applies to a proximity sensor, which does not compelthe user to touch the front lens in order to operate the mobileterminal. Moreover a characteristic shape of observed biometricsignatures (e.g., vascular structure of a finger) may be used indetecting whether a registered touch event is intended to unlock themobile terminal.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing how a comparison is made between aregistered capacitance distribution pattern and a detected capacitancepattern. The process begins in step S1110 where a capacitance patternfor a user's finger (or another object used for touch detection orproximity detection) is registered in memory. The process then proceedsto step S1113 where a query is made regarding whether a touch event isdetected (once again the process need not be limited to touch, butproximity detection may also be used). If the response to the query instep S1113 is negative, the process returns in a loop for continuing tomonitor for a touch event detection. However if the response to thequery is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S1115 where acomparison is made between the detected capacitance pattern and theregistered finger pattern. The comparison may be made in a variety ofways, one being on a sensor-by-sensor basis, detecting an absolute orassigned difference, and aggregating the difference results to determinea total difference. The difference then may be compared to the aggregatecapacitance contained in the pattern (area under the curve) to normalizethe difference. If the difference is determined to be greater than orequal to a predetermined percentage (X percent in step S1117), then itis determined that the pattern is not sufficiently similar to theregistered pattern, and therefore the process returns to step S1113.However if the difference is less than X percent, it is determined thatthe capacitance pattern is sufficiently like that of the registeredpattern, and therefore an interrupt is generated to unlock the userinterface for the mobile terminal. The unlock step is performed in stepS1119. Then the process ends.

There are a variety of ways to compare the detected capacitance patternwith the registered finger pattern. Aside from performing asensor-by-sensor comparison in determining a difference between theaggregate detected levels verses registered levels for each sensor,another comparison could be made with a cross-correlation operation.Cross-correlation is an operation that measures similarity between twowaveforms (in this case capacitance patterns) as a function of time lagapplied to one of them. Cross-correlation is particularly useful if apattern of capacitance changes during the user interaction event, whichwould be the case when the user performs a gesture with his finger. Across-correlation could be performed at different resolution levels, onebeing a sensor-by-sensor resolution, another being on a soft key-by-softkey basis, and a third being on an area-by-area basis where each areaincludes a group of soft keys. In either case, if a detected gesturepattern or touch pattern that changes over time (usually due to amovement of a user's finger or fingers), that pattern may be detected bycomparing a cross-correlation coefficient to a predetermined thresholdlevel (discussed more in reference to FIG. 12). Cross-correlation isperformed on the complex conjugate of one function (in this case theregistered capacitance pattern) multiplied by the time lag version ofthe observed (or detected) capacitance pattern.

For both a single touch capacitance pattern, as well as a gesturepattern (changing over time and distance) similar detection patters maybe used with proximity detection patterns. Also, rather than singletouch events, the same analysis and detection of similarity betweenregistered patterns and detected patterns may be performed on amulti-touch operation.

FIG. 12 provides a more specific example of a comparison of registeredand detected movement patterns using correlation. Similar to FIG. 11,FIG. 12 registers the movement in S1210 (regardless of whether it is atouch pattern, proximity pattern, or a multi-touch pattern). The processthen proceeds to the query in step S1212 where the touch event (orproximity or multi-touch event) is detected. If the response to thequery in step S1212 is negative, the process returns to step S1212 in aloop. However if the result of the query is affirmative, the processproceeds to step S1214 where the comparison of the detected movementpattern with the registered movement pattern is made. Once again thiscomparison may be in the form of a cross-correlation. A crude form ofthe cross-correlation was described in FIG. 8, where different passesacross different sensors were performed in sequence. However, a moredetailed analysis may be performed on a particular sensor-by-sensorbasis on a group of touch keys, or even touch key areas.

A two-dimensional cross-correlation may be performed if the movementpattern is not in a straight line (e.g., horizontal) across the sensorarea, but rather includes a two-dimensional movement. Thetwo-dimensional cross-correlation (or comparison on a touch area bytouch area basis) would be performed by comparing the registered patternagainst the observed detection pattern, which would allow for offsets indirection. For example, if a registered pattern was in the form of a Z,the exact location of that Z on the main sensor or on the sub-sensorwould be detectable via two-dimensional correlation. Moreover, thetwo-dimensional correlation would be able to observe a touch event, evenif the Z pattern was offset in the longitudinal direction, and/or thehorizontal direction. By performing the correlation operation, even ifthe pattern were elongated relative to the registered movement pattern,the correlation coefficient would still provide a relatively high valueif the shape was largely maintained, although elongated or offset in thelongitudinal or horizontal direction.

After the comparison step, the process proceeds to step S1216 where itis determined whether the correlation coefficient is greater than orequal to a predetermined value Y. The predetermined value, whennormalized, would be something less than one. This correlationcoefficient value may be set by the user and could range anywherebetween 1 and 0. However if set too high (approaching 1), it wouldrequire a very precise tracing of the detected movement pattern on thefront lens with the registered movement pattern in order to unlock themobile terminal. For this reason, the value Y would normally be set toless than one, such as 0.75. A typical operating range would be 0.75 to0.25. The higher value lowers the likelihood of a false positivedetection, but also makes it more challenging for the user to accuratelyreproduce a gesture that sufficiently matches the stored pattern. Lowervalues make it easier for the user to reproduce a match, but alsoincreases the likelihood of a false positive detection.

If the response to the query in step S1216 is negative, the processproceeds to step S1212. On the other hand if the response to the queryin step S1216 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S1218 wherethe mobile terminal is unlocked. Subsequently the process ends.

Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the presentdisclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is thereforeto be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, thedisclosed embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed herein.

1. (canceled)
 2. An electronic device comprising: an interactive displayhaving a sensor that detects user interaction with a sub-portion of theinteractive display; and a processing circuit configured to change astate of the interactive display from a low power state to anoperational state in response to detected user interaction with theelectronic device, wherein the processing circuit is configured toperform the state change after determining that a detected capacitancepattern, caused by an object used to generate the user interaction,matches a preregistered capacitance pattern within a predeterminedamount, the user interaction is a touch event against to surface of thesub-portion of a touch panel display, the sub-portion being arranged inan adjacent area of a main portion of the interactive display, and theprocessing circuit is configured to perform visual feedback to thesub-portion of the interactive display when a detected capacitancepattern, caused by an object used to generate the user interaction,matches a preregistered capacitance pattern within a predeterminedamount.
 3. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein the sub-portion isdisposed at an end portion of the interactive display, and is separatedfrom a main display portion of said interactive display by a materialthat optically covers at least a portion of said sub-portion but notsaid main display portion.
 4. The electronic device of claim 2, furthercomprising: a front planar material having an external surface thatseparates the sensor from an object used to generate the userinteraction, wherein the interactive display being the touch panel, andthe sensor being a capacitance sensor that is reactive to the touchevent.
 5. The electronic device of claim 4, wherein the one userinteraction is the touch event that includes a movement of said objectover said front planar material while remaining in contact with saidfront planar material.
 6. The electronic device of claim 5, wherein thesub-portion includes a plurality of soft key regions that includes atleast a first soft key and a second soft key, and the touch eventincludes a movement across the soft key regions that include the firstsoft key region and the second soft key region.
 7. The electronic deviceof claim 6, wherein the processing circuit determines that the firstsoft key region is included in the touch event before determining thatthe second soft key region is included in the touch event.
 8. Theelectronic device of claim 7, wherein the processing circuit determinesthe first soft key region is included in the touch event by receiving asignal from the sensor indicating that a change in detected capacitanceamount exceeded a predetermined level for a portion of the sensor thatcorresponds with the first soft key region.
 9. The electronic device ofclaim 4, further comprising: a computer storage medium configured tostore data describing a preregistered capacitance pattern, wherein theprocessing circuit performs the state change after determining that adetected capacitance pattern caused by the object matches thepreregistered capacitance pattern within a predetermined amount.
 10. Theelectronic device of claim 4, wherein the one user interaction is aproximity detection that includes a movement of said object over saidfront planar material without contacting said front planar material. 11.The electronic device of claim 10, further comprising: a computerstorage medium configured to store data describing a preregisteredproximity pattern, wherein the processing circuit performs the statechange after determining that a detected proximity pattern caused by theobject matches the preregistered proximity pattern within apredetermined amount.
 12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein theprocessing circuit performs a cross-correlation operation to determinethat a detected proximity pattern caused by the object matches thepreregistered proximity pattern within a predetermined amount.
 13. Theelectronic device of claim 4, wherein the one user interaction is amulti-point gesture that includes a movement of said object over saidfront planar material.
 14. The electronic device of claim 2, wherein theprocessing circuitry performs the visual feedback by controlling afeedback mechanism, the feedback mechanism providing a haptic responsewhen the detected user interaction is recognized by the processingcircuit as being a user interaction that is associated with a wake upand an unlock instruction.
 15. The electronic device of claim 14,wherein the feedback mechanism includes at least one of an illuminationdevice and a tactile sensation device.
 16. A method for managingoperation of a user interface in an electronic device comprising:detecting with a sensor user interaction with a sub-portion of aninteractive display; and executing, with a processing circuit, a statechange of the interactive display from a low power state to anoperational state in response to detected user interaction with theelectronic device, wherein the processing circuit is configured toperform the state change after determining that a detected capacitancepattern, caused by an object used to generate the user interaction,matches a preregistered capacitance pattern within a predeterminedamount, and the one user interaction is a touch event against to surfaceof the sub-portion of a touch panel display, the sub-portion beingarranged in an adjacent area of a main portion of the interactivedisplay; and performing visual feedback to the sub-portion of theinteractive display when a detected capacitance pattern, caused by anobject used to generate the user interaction, matches a preregisteredcapacitance pattern within a predetermined amount.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the one user interaction is a touch event thatincludes a movement of said object over a front planar material whileremaining in contact with said front planar material, said front planarmaterial separating said sensor from an object that generates the userinteraction.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said executing includesdetermining that a change in detected capacitance exceeds apredetermined level for a portion of the sensor that corresponds with afirst soft key region.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the one userinteraction is a touch event that includes a movement of said objectover a front planar material but does not contact said front planarmaterial, said front planar material separating said sensor from anobject that generates the user interaction.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein said executing includes determining that a detected proximitypattern caused by the object matches a preregistered proximity patternwithin a predetermined amount.
 21. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium having computer readable instructions that when executedby a processing circuit implement a method of managing a user interfacein an electronic device, said method comprising: detecting with a sensoruser interaction with a sub-portion of an interactive display; andexecuting with a processing circuit a state change of the interactivedisplay from a low power state to an operational state in response todetected user interaction with the electronic device, wherein theprocessing circuit is configured to perform the state change afterdetermining that a detected capacitance pattern, caused by an objectused to generate the user interaction, matches a preregisteredcapacitance pattern within a predetermined amount, and the one userinteraction is a touch event against to surface of the sub-portion of atouch panel display, the sub-portion being arranged in an adjacent areaof a main portion of the interactive display; and performing visualfeedback to the sub-portion of the interactive display when a detectedcapacitance pattern, caused by an object used to generate the userinteraction, matches a preregistered capacitance pattern within apredetermined amount.